Council committee votes to pursue state grant for splash park in Taunton

Tuesday

Jan 28, 2014 at 10:52 PMJan 29, 2014 at 9:03 PM

On Tuesday night, the City Council voted to pursue a state grant program to install a public “splash park.”

If the city qualifies for the $200,000 grant, the park, or pad, would be installed either in Hopewell Park, where Taunton's municipal swimming pool is located, or Memorial Park in Weir Village.

Charles Winokoor Taunton Gazette Staff Reporter @cwinokoor

TAUNTON On Tuesday night, the City Council voted to pursue a state grant program to install a public "splash park."

If the city qualifies for the $200,000 grant, the park, or pad, would be installed either in Hopewell Park, where Taunton's municipal swimming pool is located, or Memorial Park in Weir Village.

A splash park is a child-friendly, water play facility, oftentimes set in a public park, that accumulates no standing water and consists of touch-activated pads that spray water through an array of nozzles.

Unlike a swimming pool, lifeguards are not required to monitor children using a splash park.

Committee members met with Meghan O'Brien, president and owner of Medfield-based O'Brien & Sons, which bills itself as the largest supplier of outdoor recreational equipment in New England.

Also present were Bill Napolitano, environmental program director for Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District, and Marilyn Greene, Taunton's commissioner of Parks, Cemeteries and Public Grounds.

The council committee voted unanimously to give Greene the OK to submit an application to the Division of Conservation Services for its grant program called Our Common Backyards Workshop.

The new program, which was announced last December, allows the commonwealth's 54 cities to apply for a $200,000 grant, which requires a $50,000 in-kind match from each municipality. The city pays the entire amount up front and is reimbursed for the $200,000 once the spray park is completed by its December 2014 deadline.

The deadline to submit the grant application is Feb. 13.

The program gives cities the option of a new splash park, a new playground or the renovation of either of the two that already exist on site.

Greene said the project will eventually go out to bid after the city gets word that it has qualified. She said O'Brien was invited to speak to the council because of her company's proven track record for installing and designing splash pads.

The Common Backyards program, which comes under the aegis of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, requires that each splash park be located within what the EEA calls its Environmental Justice Map.

The purpose of the map, according to the EEA, is to promote community involvement in low-income, minority neighborhoods whose residents normally experience a "disproportionate share of environmental burdens."

Green said splash parks have been successful in a number of southeastern Massachusetts municipalities, including New Bedford. She said Fall River is also considering taking advantage of the program.

Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. submitted a letter of support for the grant application.

The O'Brien company has built similar water pads in Lynn, Mattapan, Hadley and Holyoke.

The project also requires an Open Space and Recreation Plan, which Napolitano said is being prepared by SRPEDD.

O'Brien said more than 200 spray parks have been installed in New England since 1996. She said many cities have built additional pads because of their success and popularity.

On Wednesday, an O'Brien & Sons employee said the company, which has been in business for more than 80 years, has installed nearly 180 splash pads.

Greene said the state ultimately decides which of the two sites would be most appropriate for the water pad. Both sites, she said, qualify under the Environmental Justice criterion.

On Tuesday night, DPW water division supervisor Cathal O'Brien noted that Hopewell Park, unlike Memorial Park, has an existing water and sewer infrastructure that would be consistent with the needs of a splash pad.

Council president A.J. Marshall said he's visited a splash park and suggested installing a rubber floor might result in less scraped knees and elbows.

But Ms. O'Brien said it would cost an extra $80,000 to go the rubber route. She also said most of the floors her company have installed have been of the concrete variety, and that there have been no performance problems.

City Councilman Donald Cleary asked why East Taunton, specifically Sikorski Field, shouldn't be considered. Greene pointed out that the field through the years, in part because of its isolation, has become a popular target of vandals.

Water Division director O'Brien noted that Sikorski lacks the water and sewer infrastructure available at Hopewell.

In other council news, Deborah Carr said the city should consider passing an ordinance to establish a timeline, whereby an owner whose property has been destroyed or heavily damaged by fire is required to raze or rebuild the site.

The topic arose because of a letter from building inspector Mary Jane Benker, in which she notes that code enforcement regarding a burned-out building at Chateau Estates apartment complex is being suspended, at least until an architect's plan is completed.

Councilman John McCaul, who suggested such an ordinance to a reporter when he was interviewed over the weekend, seconded Carr's motion to refer the matter to the ordinances and bills committee, in addition to placing it on file.

Carr said allowing such an eyesore to languish indefinitely — the Chateau Estates building burned just over a year ago — is unfair to residents at the complex.

Later in the evening, Hoye announced that anyone wishing to post an upcoming community event on either the city's Facebook page or website should call his office with the information.